Millions of British travellers face potential flight cancellations as Airbus races to modify thousands of aircraft against a surprising threat: intense solar radiation.
The European planemaker issued an urgent announcement on Friday 28 November 2025, warning that solar activity could corrupt critical flight control data on its popular A320 family of aircraft.
Immediate Impact on Airlines
British Airways, easyJet and Wizz Air - which all rely heavily on the A320 family for their European operations - are bracing for significant disruption.
Wizz Air UK has already confirmed that some flights over the weekend may be affected as they implement necessary modifications.
An Airbus statement revealed: Intense solar radiation may corrupt data critical to the functioning of flight controls. The company has identified 6,500 in-service aircraft that require immediate attention.
Technical Challenges and Solutions
The problem stems from Airbus's fly-by-wire system, which depends on precise data flow. Solar radiation can interfere with sensors and connectors, potentially causing unpredictable electron behaviour that corrupts this information.
According to Reuters reports, approximately two-thirds of affected jets can be fixed relatively quickly by reverting to previous software versions. However, around 2,000 aircraft require hardware modifications that could ground them for weeks.
Airbus has worked with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (Easa) to issue an Emergency Airworthiness Directive, mandating immediate precautionary action from all operators.
Scale of the Disruption
The A320 family, which includes A319 and A321 models, represents the world's most popular short-haul aircraft. Recent data shows the fleet operated 1.4 million flights in September alone - equivalent to 2,000 take-offs and landings every hour.
EasyJet's entire fleet of over 350 aircraft consists of A320 family planes, while British Airways operates its mainline Heathrow short-haul and Gatwick services exclusively with these aircraft.
Wizz Air, already grappling with separate Pratt & Whitney engine issues, confirmed they're scheduling immediate maintenance but warned passengers to expect schedule changes.
The airline stated: The safety of our customers, crew, and aircraft is always our number one and overriding priority.
The Independent has contacted British Airways and easyJet for comment on how their operations will be affected.
